- Joined
- Feb 6, 2006
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- 12,144
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- Location
- Cape Town, deep in the lentils
- Bike
- KTM 990 Adventure
Day 3 part 2,
Sorry for the delay, been busy and swapped computers so had some glitches with the video.
Link for the Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl3jNDKoSKI
That Acropvic of Donaldâ??s really does make a fine noise. It is interesting riding behind it. When it is not on the throttle it is almost impossible to hear, but when he opens up it makes the 950â??s sound a little reserved. Better still, Donald says that it is a really great upgrade to not only the anaemic standard sound but makes a big difference to the power of the bike.
It was at the first fuel stop that we made a bit of a blunder. The total trip distance for the day was according to the GPS track 363km, we had travelled 40km of it plus the 30 or so from the previous fuel stop up until this point and so it was reasonable to expect to get another 130kâ??s out of the bike even with slow heavy going. When we got to Cathcart all 3 of Cathcartâ??s fuel stations were packed with queues of bikes. We were impatient as if the routes and tracks to come would somehow disappear! We had glanced at the map that they had given us and with a little bit of rushed maths we reckoned that if we left it till the next fuel stop in Hogsback, then it should be no problem. Tally ho! Bugger this queue thing.
From here the route headed up to a view point on some very bouncy two track. It was lots of grass tufts that were like soft boulders. The view was excellent and we spent a little time here.
It was at the top that I wanted to glance at the map again as I was a little uneasy about this fuel story. Good thing I did. Somehow in the adrenalin fuelled maths session, we (or more accurately I) completely messed up the calculations; we still had way more distance to Hogsback â?? the next fuel stop, than was going to be comfortable. About another 200kâ??s. Clinton would have made it as he has a set of faring tanks, one of which was full but there was a very good chance that I would be whistling quite a way before the fuel stop came.
Dillema! Cathcart was only 15kâ??s back. But, it would have been really stupid riding back along the route; it would have been a certain recipe for a head-on. So after consulting Dr Garmin, he showed us that if we carried on off the mountain and down to the small village there was a road that we could return to Cathcart to fill up.
So, small issue but hell, it would have been better than walking later. Just after we set off we met Andre who was obviously stuck with a problem.
Pete was with him but we stopped to help anyway. He said his 990 just had everything start blinking and then nothing, no lights, nothing. Andre is clearly not a tinkerer and hadnâ??t any idea even where his battery was. Clinton, Pete and I suspected that it was nothing more than a loose terminal. And so it was. Within a few minutes we had him going again. Andre was making some vague promises to himself that he needed to get better acquainted with his Mrs.
We were back to Cathcart in no time, a round trip of nothing more than 30kâ??s from when we left. Just before we headed out a guy ran out of the pub next door to the fuel station. He was asking about directions for the route? Why was he in the pub then? Well, his buddies had decided enough for the day and were going to spend it in the pub. He and one other wanted to carry on but didnâ??t have a GPS and were not certain of which way to go. He was welcome to follow us back to the route. He wanted us to wait one minute to get his pal out and heâ??d be there with us.
Clinton and I had a bit of a chin wag waiting for him. There were about 10 to 15 bikes outside the pub WTF! To come all this way to get stuck in a pub at 10 in the morning? Certainly didnâ??t make any sense to us. Ah well, I suppose, each to his own.
Lunch was calling, it was all very quick riding to Lunch. One consequence of our return to Cathcart was that we were right at the back of the van of riders of both route 1 and 2. As a result we were flashing past quite a few riders. I was a bit uneasy about this as I know it is difficult to see or hear anyone coming up behind on gravel. I know that it can be quite a fright and I am sorry if I did give anyone one. We past Debbie on the way, she looked to be having fun... I think?
Going up Katberg pass was not as pleasant as I had thought it would be, it looked as if someone had recently graded the pass making it very bumpy and slippery. It was not that pleasant. I have ridden down this route last year and as a result I was belting along knowing the path a bit and it was on this bit that my forks bottomed out for the first and only time of the trip. You can hear it in the video. You can also see the front wash out on one corner. It doesnâ??t look so bad on the video but it is not a nice feeling. I have no problems sliding the back and on occasion the front when exiting a corner, but going into one gets the undies wedged quite far up.
A few words about the suspension. I had just upgraded the forks with a Superplush USA suspension upgrade. They had revalved and resprung the forks and serviced the shock. Initially I had a challenge with headshake above 165kph on tar when I first tried them out. James of Superplush advised me to do a number of things. This only reduced the headshake slightly to the point that it only became dangerous at 175kph. This was acceptable as I didnâ??t see myself going any faster than this, but I was worried that this tar instability would was a sign of unpleasant off-road instability at lower speeds. His last bit of advice before I left was that it had to be the Michelin Desert that was doing it and that I should try another tire. This wasnâ??t going to happen until I came back so I was going to have to live with it.
However, once on the trip, I had no issues? All was rock solid stable everywhere right up to 200kph?
The upgrade meant the front was much more balanced to the back and it ironed out all the stuff that previously I would have either bottomed out on or had a really jarring ride unless I had not slowed down. Though it was more balanced the rear is still a little over sprung. The bike feels now how I think they should have had to start with. It feels less heavy on the front. I think if it had been the standard set that I was using, I could never have ridden it that quickly and still be within my personal comfort zone.
Ok, enough bragging over the blingâ?¦
Lunch was well organised and ample.
They organised some impressive skydivers who negotiated the high winds and big trees really well. Clearly they had done that before. And, here were the legends too.
Mike, at lunch then dropped the bombshell; Hogsback, the next refuel point had run out of fuel. Apparently there had been a festival on and this had dented the only fuel station in the tiny village. Didnâ??t we feel clever again! It was apparent that many others had made the mistake that we so nearly would have made.
On leaving the lunch spot there was a great track called Devils Staircase, it had some fairly big step ups that had caught a couple of guys on 640â??s, we headed past them on to a great ride towards Hogsback.
The petrol station had a gaggle of bikes that were waiting for the backup vehicles to bring along extra fuel. We on the other hand would be able to make the 3rd fuel station that was only another 40kâ??s away. My fuel light came on just as we passed the stranded bikers. As it was only 40kâ??s or so to the next fuel stop I would make it easily. Lucky we had doubled back.
Just past the pumps the trail headed off through more forests with big shale type sharp rocks in the road. I had whacked a couple and winced every time. One particularly severe one had us stopping for the inevitable. A Flat! Bugger! Clinton pulled out an aerosol flat fix spray can. It only got me 50 meters further down the track.
Nothing for it but, put my spare tube in the fairing that I had carried since I had got the bike 30 000kâ??s previously. I was hoping that it hadnâ??t chafed through.
The tube had a big pinch flat in it. In went the new one and within a few minutes we were off again.
I donâ??t have any pictures of the rest of the trip, and only one section of forest is there a bit of video. But again the whole bit was really really great riding. At one stage we were topped out going up a smooth wide grippy gravel road and whipped past a bunch of guys. Just the type of riding that I donâ??t think there are many other makes of bike that would be able to keep up.
There was a section after this of forestry roads that were really just a bunch of point and squirt straights, jump on the brakes, slide into the corner and blast along the next small straight only do it all again and again. Over and over for 20 minutes or so. Clinton was by this time riding right on my shoulder. He would only drop back for the blind rises and corners. He had been a fast learner and was having a gas following someone who he could follow for the lines and pace. Towards the end of the forest roads, I know I was going at it just about as fast as I could. Riding like this is exhilarating for me, I donâ??t do it often, but it was just the right time and place. I was redlining on the fun-o-meter. There were a few corners where we were sliding onto and out of them in unison, not more than a few metres apart. Stunning riding.
The last stretch was a bit of tar and then from there I had thought we would be straight back to the Camp via one of the three dirt roads that go to the Camp. Wrong! It was a great little deserted single track that rode straight into the setting sun. It was a mellowing experience and a fabulous way to end a fantastic day.
It looked like we were one of the later ones to get back.
The evening was a great topping to a stunning day. Mike gave a post day briefing about what had gone on, what had worked and what hadnâ??t. The general vibe was that everyone had had a really great day. Some had been a bit past their limits but were happy. There apparently was only one broken wrist and a few scrapes and bruises. Considering the number riders and the distances it was pretty good.
Clinton and I swapping war stories under the influence of a lot of Rum. Funny how the more you drink the harder the routes became when recounting them.
Debbie was obviously getting some of the days route recounted to her - looks like the exaggeration factor has kicked in here too.
The comedian I thought was pretty good. There was a bit that he educated us on; waxing the â??Smelly Freckleâ?â?¦ I suppose you had to have been there. I headed off to bed via the bar just to poke my nose in there. WRONG! Got stuck with a few good people and ended up having another brew or six.
Pete
By now, the days riding was reaching truly epic proportions, there was nothing that was done at under 220kph the Dakar is for pussies and Marc Coma was lucky to ride with me.
I purposely didnâ??t look at the time going to bed as I know that it would make me so much more tired if it really was as late as I suspected.
I crashed, dreaming of the day and looking forward to tomorrow.
Sorry for the delay, been busy and swapped computers so had some glitches with the video.
Link for the Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl3jNDKoSKI
That Acropvic of Donaldâ??s really does make a fine noise. It is interesting riding behind it. When it is not on the throttle it is almost impossible to hear, but when he opens up it makes the 950â??s sound a little reserved. Better still, Donald says that it is a really great upgrade to not only the anaemic standard sound but makes a big difference to the power of the bike.
It was at the first fuel stop that we made a bit of a blunder. The total trip distance for the day was according to the GPS track 363km, we had travelled 40km of it plus the 30 or so from the previous fuel stop up until this point and so it was reasonable to expect to get another 130kâ??s out of the bike even with slow heavy going. When we got to Cathcart all 3 of Cathcartâ??s fuel stations were packed with queues of bikes. We were impatient as if the routes and tracks to come would somehow disappear! We had glanced at the map that they had given us and with a little bit of rushed maths we reckoned that if we left it till the next fuel stop in Hogsback, then it should be no problem. Tally ho! Bugger this queue thing.
From here the route headed up to a view point on some very bouncy two track. It was lots of grass tufts that were like soft boulders. The view was excellent and we spent a little time here.
It was at the top that I wanted to glance at the map again as I was a little uneasy about this fuel story. Good thing I did. Somehow in the adrenalin fuelled maths session, we (or more accurately I) completely messed up the calculations; we still had way more distance to Hogsback â?? the next fuel stop, than was going to be comfortable. About another 200kâ??s. Clinton would have made it as he has a set of faring tanks, one of which was full but there was a very good chance that I would be whistling quite a way before the fuel stop came.
Dillema! Cathcart was only 15kâ??s back. But, it would have been really stupid riding back along the route; it would have been a certain recipe for a head-on. So after consulting Dr Garmin, he showed us that if we carried on off the mountain and down to the small village there was a road that we could return to Cathcart to fill up.
So, small issue but hell, it would have been better than walking later. Just after we set off we met Andre who was obviously stuck with a problem.
Pete was with him but we stopped to help anyway. He said his 990 just had everything start blinking and then nothing, no lights, nothing. Andre is clearly not a tinkerer and hadnâ??t any idea even where his battery was. Clinton, Pete and I suspected that it was nothing more than a loose terminal. And so it was. Within a few minutes we had him going again. Andre was making some vague promises to himself that he needed to get better acquainted with his Mrs.
We were back to Cathcart in no time, a round trip of nothing more than 30kâ??s from when we left. Just before we headed out a guy ran out of the pub next door to the fuel station. He was asking about directions for the route? Why was he in the pub then? Well, his buddies had decided enough for the day and were going to spend it in the pub. He and one other wanted to carry on but didnâ??t have a GPS and were not certain of which way to go. He was welcome to follow us back to the route. He wanted us to wait one minute to get his pal out and heâ??d be there with us.
Clinton and I had a bit of a chin wag waiting for him. There were about 10 to 15 bikes outside the pub WTF! To come all this way to get stuck in a pub at 10 in the morning? Certainly didnâ??t make any sense to us. Ah well, I suppose, each to his own.
Lunch was calling, it was all very quick riding to Lunch. One consequence of our return to Cathcart was that we were right at the back of the van of riders of both route 1 and 2. As a result we were flashing past quite a few riders. I was a bit uneasy about this as I know it is difficult to see or hear anyone coming up behind on gravel. I know that it can be quite a fright and I am sorry if I did give anyone one. We past Debbie on the way, she looked to be having fun... I think?
Going up Katberg pass was not as pleasant as I had thought it would be, it looked as if someone had recently graded the pass making it very bumpy and slippery. It was not that pleasant. I have ridden down this route last year and as a result I was belting along knowing the path a bit and it was on this bit that my forks bottomed out for the first and only time of the trip. You can hear it in the video. You can also see the front wash out on one corner. It doesnâ??t look so bad on the video but it is not a nice feeling. I have no problems sliding the back and on occasion the front when exiting a corner, but going into one gets the undies wedged quite far up.
A few words about the suspension. I had just upgraded the forks with a Superplush USA suspension upgrade. They had revalved and resprung the forks and serviced the shock. Initially I had a challenge with headshake above 165kph on tar when I first tried them out. James of Superplush advised me to do a number of things. This only reduced the headshake slightly to the point that it only became dangerous at 175kph. This was acceptable as I didnâ??t see myself going any faster than this, but I was worried that this tar instability would was a sign of unpleasant off-road instability at lower speeds. His last bit of advice before I left was that it had to be the Michelin Desert that was doing it and that I should try another tire. This wasnâ??t going to happen until I came back so I was going to have to live with it.
However, once on the trip, I had no issues? All was rock solid stable everywhere right up to 200kph?
The upgrade meant the front was much more balanced to the back and it ironed out all the stuff that previously I would have either bottomed out on or had a really jarring ride unless I had not slowed down. Though it was more balanced the rear is still a little over sprung. The bike feels now how I think they should have had to start with. It feels less heavy on the front. I think if it had been the standard set that I was using, I could never have ridden it that quickly and still be within my personal comfort zone.
Ok, enough bragging over the blingâ?¦
Lunch was well organised and ample.
They organised some impressive skydivers who negotiated the high winds and big trees really well. Clearly they had done that before. And, here were the legends too.
Mike, at lunch then dropped the bombshell; Hogsback, the next refuel point had run out of fuel. Apparently there had been a festival on and this had dented the only fuel station in the tiny village. Didnâ??t we feel clever again! It was apparent that many others had made the mistake that we so nearly would have made.
On leaving the lunch spot there was a great track called Devils Staircase, it had some fairly big step ups that had caught a couple of guys on 640â??s, we headed past them on to a great ride towards Hogsback.
The petrol station had a gaggle of bikes that were waiting for the backup vehicles to bring along extra fuel. We on the other hand would be able to make the 3rd fuel station that was only another 40kâ??s away. My fuel light came on just as we passed the stranded bikers. As it was only 40kâ??s or so to the next fuel stop I would make it easily. Lucky we had doubled back.
Just past the pumps the trail headed off through more forests with big shale type sharp rocks in the road. I had whacked a couple and winced every time. One particularly severe one had us stopping for the inevitable. A Flat! Bugger! Clinton pulled out an aerosol flat fix spray can. It only got me 50 meters further down the track.
Nothing for it but, put my spare tube in the fairing that I had carried since I had got the bike 30 000kâ??s previously. I was hoping that it hadnâ??t chafed through.
The tube had a big pinch flat in it. In went the new one and within a few minutes we were off again.
I donâ??t have any pictures of the rest of the trip, and only one section of forest is there a bit of video. But again the whole bit was really really great riding. At one stage we were topped out going up a smooth wide grippy gravel road and whipped past a bunch of guys. Just the type of riding that I donâ??t think there are many other makes of bike that would be able to keep up.
There was a section after this of forestry roads that were really just a bunch of point and squirt straights, jump on the brakes, slide into the corner and blast along the next small straight only do it all again and again. Over and over for 20 minutes or so. Clinton was by this time riding right on my shoulder. He would only drop back for the blind rises and corners. He had been a fast learner and was having a gas following someone who he could follow for the lines and pace. Towards the end of the forest roads, I know I was going at it just about as fast as I could. Riding like this is exhilarating for me, I donâ??t do it often, but it was just the right time and place. I was redlining on the fun-o-meter. There were a few corners where we were sliding onto and out of them in unison, not more than a few metres apart. Stunning riding.
The last stretch was a bit of tar and then from there I had thought we would be straight back to the Camp via one of the three dirt roads that go to the Camp. Wrong! It was a great little deserted single track that rode straight into the setting sun. It was a mellowing experience and a fabulous way to end a fantastic day.
It looked like we were one of the later ones to get back.
The evening was a great topping to a stunning day. Mike gave a post day briefing about what had gone on, what had worked and what hadnâ??t. The general vibe was that everyone had had a really great day. Some had been a bit past their limits but were happy. There apparently was only one broken wrist and a few scrapes and bruises. Considering the number riders and the distances it was pretty good.
Clinton and I swapping war stories under the influence of a lot of Rum. Funny how the more you drink the harder the routes became when recounting them.
Debbie was obviously getting some of the days route recounted to her - looks like the exaggeration factor has kicked in here too.
The comedian I thought was pretty good. There was a bit that he educated us on; waxing the â??Smelly Freckleâ?â?¦ I suppose you had to have been there. I headed off to bed via the bar just to poke my nose in there. WRONG! Got stuck with a few good people and ended up having another brew or six.
Pete
By now, the days riding was reaching truly epic proportions, there was nothing that was done at under 220kph the Dakar is for pussies and Marc Coma was lucky to ride with me.
I purposely didnâ??t look at the time going to bed as I know that it would make me so much more tired if it really was as late as I suspected.
I crashed, dreaming of the day and looking forward to tomorrow.
